I don’t know how it is possible that I have never tried chicken marsala before, but until tonight that was the case. I always consider it at restaurants but then end up choosing something else. I have read many, many raves about this particular recipe on the cooking message board I frequent so I finally gave it a shot. It was delicious! Ben and I both really enjoyed it. It definitely has a unique flavor to it and it will be a great addition to my ever-growing list of dinners.
This recipe comes from Laura’s blog, and is her adaptation of the original recipe from Cook’s Illustrated. I really appreciate the detailed instructions in this recipe. I think I am going to have to investigate Cook’s Illustrated further, because people who cook from it really seem to love it. I chose to use turkey bacon rather than pancetta. I only made two chicken breasts (pounded thin) but the regular amount of sauce which worked out well.
Chicken Marsala
Ingredients:
2-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
kosher salt
ground black pepper
2 tbsp. olive oil
4 slices of bacon or pancetta, chopped
2 cups white or cremini mushrooms
2 large garlic cloves, minced
1 tbsp. minced shallot
1 tbsp. tomato paste
1 ½ cups Marsala wine (sweet)
1 ½ tbsp. fresh lemon juice (1 small lemon)
4 tbsp. unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces, at room temperature
2 tbsp. chopped fresh parsley leaves
Directions:
Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position. Place a large heatproof dinner plate on the oven rack, and heat oven to 200° F. Heat a 12” heavy-bottomed skillet over medium-high heat until very hot, about 3 minutes. Pat chicken breasts dry. Meanwhile, place flour in a shallow bowl or pie plate. Season both sides of chicken cutlets with salt and pepper; working one piece at a time, coat both sides with flour. Lift breast from tapered end and shake to remove excess flour; set aside.
Add oil to hot skillet and heat until shimmering. Place floured cutlets in a single layer in the skillet and cook until golden brown, about 3 minutes. Using tongs, flip cutlets and cook on second side until golden brown and meat feels firm when pressed with finger, about 3 minutes longer. Transfer chicken to heated plate and return to oven.
Return skillet to low heat and pancetta; sauté, stirring occasionally and scraping pan bottom to loosen browned bits until pancetta is brown and crisp, about 4 minutes. With a slotted spoon, transfer the pancetta to a paper-towel lined plate. Add mushrooms and increase heat to medium-high; sauté, stirring occasionally and scraping pan bottom, until liquid released by mushrooms evaporates and mushrooms begin to brown, about 8 minutes. Add garlic and shallot; sauté for 1 minute.
Add cooked pancetta and tomato paste. Stir while sautéing, until tomato paste begins to brown, about 1 minute. Off heat, add Marsala; return pan to high heat and simmer vigorously, scraping browned bits from pan bottom until sauce is slightly syrupy and reduced to about 1 ¼ cups, about 5 minutes. Off heat, add lemon juice and any accumulated juices from the chicken. Whisk in butter 1 tablespoon at a time. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and stir in parsley. Pour sauce over chicken and serve immediately.
Source: A La Carte by Laura
